The Proof is in the Fluffernutter

Friday, October 19, 2007

I’m not a foodie but I live with one so it wasn’t a surprise when we ended up at one of Portland, Maine’s best restaurants, Five Fifty-Five, during a recent vacation. What qualifies this story for this column is that I believe my positive experience had as much to do with the restaurant’s culture as it did with its food. When done right, a business can take on a personality, one that stems from its culture – values, aspirations, and shared expectations. And just like any other appealing personality in a relationship, it can draw you in. How does this happen?

First, the business has to be congruent. In other words, all parts of the operation have to fit together, seamlessly. In Five Fifty-Five’s case, the parts are service, atmosphere, menu, price, and attitude. I have been to plenty of restaurants that have the service down pat but the menu is uninspired. Or a fantastic menu but the actual meal doesn’t match expectations. Or how about those restaurants that have a fancy decor and are obviously projecting the attitude of “we are upscale” and one day you see some tacky sign in its window advertising two-for-one specials. Or lackluster wait staff surrounded by beauty and elegance. It takes a lot of forethought and effort to make sure all the pieces fit together.

But getting all the operational parts to fit together is not enough to create a personality. The business also needs to know “who they are.” Some of this comes from matching the parts well but I believe an experience of personality comes from thoughtful, purposeful design on the part of the business owners. And this personality isn’t necessarily an extension of the owner’s personality. Rather, once you combine operational congruency with a concrete vision -- that is when a personality can emerge that can draw you in. My sense from Five Fifty-Five is that if the owners walked away tomorrow, the staff would carry on the culture because it is that palpable and satisfying to them.

I think the biggest business payoff is that a consistent personality throughout the experience builds trust along the way, implicitly and imperceptibly. In the case of Five Fifty-Five, the consistency of each contact point we had, whether with a staff person or the actual product, was so powerful that we ordered more and enjoyed more than we would ordinarily. By the time we got to the dessert menu, there was no doubt we were going to order the homemade marshmallow fluffernutter because we had complete trust in what they would serve us. And we were not disappointed. It reminded me that a great dining experience has a symphonic quality to it.

So think about this if you’re having trouble attracting and keeping customers. How congruent is your company’s personality? How fragmented? Does it turn customers off or draw them in further? Who are you?